ICAR-CIFRI Released Fish Seeds in Prayagraj Sangam under Namami Gange Programme

On Monday, under the ranching programme organized by ICAR – Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (CIFRI) over 30,000 seeds of India’s major carps which are declining in the entire Ganga River like – catla, rohu, and mrigal fishes were released on the confluence of the Ganga and the Yamuna in Prayagraj Sangam.  

This was done to conserve fish species that are becoming extinct in the Ganga River. This ranching programme is a part of the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) project, also known as the ‘Namami Gange Programme’. 

At the event, DN Jha, the center head of the CIFRI welcomed and educated the people about the river Ganga. Alongside him was Basant Kumar Das, the director, and guest of the institute, who informed the people about the significance of the ‘Namami Gange Project’ under which the seeds of important fish species were released, also about the biodiversity and cleanliness of the Ganga River. As the Chief Guest, Joykrushna Jena was present at the event, who is the deputy director-general (fisheries), Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi. He explained the importance of fishing and ranching in the Ganga River and described different ways to increase the livelihood of fishermen and also distributed 20 cast nets among them.  

Convener of Ganga Vichar Manch and National Mission for Clean Ganga, Rajesh Sharma administered oath to all to keep Ganga clean. The pilgrims, fishermen, and regular visitors present at Sangam also participated in the programme. 

Namami Gange Programme is an Integrated Conservation Mission, which is approved as a ‘Flagship Programme’ by the Central Government in June 2014. The programme was launched to accomplish the twin objectives of effective abatement of pollution and conservation and rejuvenation of the National River Ganga. 

It is being operated under the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, and being implemented by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), and its state counterpart organizations, i.e. State Program Management Groups (SPMGs). The programme has Rs 20,000 crores of centrally-funded, non-lapsable corpus and consists of nearly 288 projects.  

Main pillars of the programme are: 

• Sewage Treatment Infrastructure

• River-Front Development

• River-Surface Cleaning

• Biodiversity

• Afforestation

• Public Awareness

• Industrial Effluent Monitoring

• Ganga Gram